New Kid on the Box - Aditya

He still has another year to graduate in English contemporary music from the UK, but that can wait for the brand-new host of the much glorified Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 - the dramatic vishwa-yudh. "Drama is what our industry is made up of," Aditya (in town with radio partner Big 92.7FM) ticks on reality check. "Nothing's staged. It's the music directors who are extremists. Either they'll jump for joy and hug you, or they'll shout and curse. That's the way it is...no singer is welcomed into the studios with jhappis and garlands," he quips. Most of the times, this rule of the whip and tongue works. "The singers work harder," experience speaks! What you need to understand, adds the young gun, is that these reality shows are merely a platform. "The winners get so absorbed in the star status that they fail to understand that it's just a platform where they are the people's fancy for that moment. This is just the beginning, you've got a push, now you have to go look for work, no one will come to you." For Aditya, the only winning combination is hard work. "Quality always wins over quantity," he uses his gyan to motivate and also put the fear of God in the contestants. As he takes over the reigns from his predecessors, Sonu Nigam who was all of 21 when he was the host and then, Shaan, Aditya is confident of his talent. "They had their own style, and I'll get my own," he focuses on the youth flavour that's going down well with the audiences. Does having Udit as a dad help? "Star status rescues you only two three times, and I have exhausted my quota," he winks. But with a keen interest in English music - he's pretty impressed with the variations it has, and age on his side, life has just begun. "So there are no future plans, just the belief that I'll do well." To new beginnings.